


Bulletproof Heart

by Just_A_Simple_Writer



Series: T4TMA week [6]
Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Bad Flirting, Getting Together, Leitner Books (The Magnus Archives), Other, badges, michael has a gun, they/them pronouns for michael shelley, theyre both trans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-16
Updated: 2021-01-16
Packaged: 2021-03-14 08:02:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28792137
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Just_A_Simple_Writer/pseuds/Just_A_Simple_Writer
Summary: Oh good. It’s Michael.There’s nothing wrong with Michael. There’sreallynothing wrong with Michael, apart from the fact that Gerry is unfortunately harbouring a very inconvenient crush on them.And really, how could he not? They’re very cute, very trans, and had once called Gertrudea witch’s broomstick come to life and cursed to only make things messierduring one of her infamous reorganisation (deorganisation, really) episodes, and Gerry had nearly proposed on the spot.
Relationships: Gerard Keay/Michael Shelley
Series: T4TMA week [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2103342
Comments: 6
Kudos: 68





	Bulletproof Heart

**Author's Note:**

> t4tma week day two - Leitners
> 
> title is from MCR's [Bulletproof Heart](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPNYBLsu0ek) (obviously)

Gerry is stuck. Not literally, although he _has_ been literally stuck many, _many_ times in the past. This time it’s more figurative.

It’s still bloody annoying, though.

Gertrude had handed him a Leitner this morning with the very vague instructions that he should destroy it (off institute property, of course, which is precisely why he’s standing right outside the breakroom door), but she hadn’t warned him that it would prove very resistant to any of his usual methods.

So now he’s just … staring at it. Angrily, as though he can _stare_ the bloody thing to death.

Which he can’t, of course. Because he’s not a fully-fledged eye avatar, not an eye avatar at _all_ , tattoos or not.

It’s not really surprising that someone walks in on him in the rather embarrassing position of trying to stare a book to death, but at least it’s not Gertrude. Or anyone from the library, because the last time one of _them_ caught him burning a book he nearly got himself completely banned from the institute. He's sure that they’d even object to him _looking_ at a book like this.

“Hello?”

Oh good. It’s Michael.

There’s nothing wrong with Michael. There’s _really_ nothing wrong with Michael, apart from the fact that Gerry is unfortunately harbouring a very inconvenient crush on them.

And really, how could he not? They’re very cute, very trans, and had once called Gertrude _a witch’s broomstick come to life and cursed to only make things messier_ during one of her infamous reorganisation ( _de_ organisation, really) episodes, and Gerry had nearly proposed on the spot.

So, yeah. If Gerry had a checklist of things he’s into Michael would probably fill every spot, and it’s totally fine that they’ve just walked in on Gerry trying to glare a book to death. _Totally fine._

“Hi,” Gerry says, after a very long pause during which the book does not spontaneously burst into flames. “What are you doing out here?

“I just wanted some fresh air,” they say, waving a hand around. “But, um … I can go in, if you’re doing something important?”

“No,” Gerry says, perhaps a little too quickly. “It’s fine. You can help me, if you want?”

“Oh,” they say, their cheeks going a little red. “Okay.”

They dart down the stares and come to stand beside him, eyeing the book on the floor. “What do you need help with?”

“This,” Gerry says, and kicks the book.

“Um,” Michael says.

“It needs destroying,” Gerry explains vaguely. “But it won’t burn and when I tried to stab it it bit me. See?”

He pulls his sleeve up a little to show them the marks on his arm from where the book had rather unexpectedly grown teeth.

“It bit you?” Michael exclaims, and touches the mark, very gently.

“It bit me,” Gerry confirms, pulling his sleeve down quickly. He’s not the sort of man to swoon, but if he were he might have swooned just from Michael's fingers on his arm. “And I’d like to get rid of it without getting too close.”

Michael blinks at him. “Could you shoot it?”

“I guess,” Gerry says. It’s probably a better suggestion than anything he would have come up with, but… “I don’t have a gun, though.”

“Oh, I do,” Michael says, giving him a shy smile. “You could borrow it, if you wanted.”

“You have a gun?” Gerry asks, fighting the urge to get down on one knee right now. Cute, _and_ they own a gun? If he weren’t already in love he would have just fallen.

“Uh huh,” Michael says, nodding quickly. “We could go back to my apartment and pick it up now, if you want? It’s not far, and I’m on my break.”

“Yeah,” Gerry’s mouth says, before his brain can catch up and say something stupid. “That sounds great.”

Michael smiles brightly. “Perfect. Come on, we can take the tube.”

They offer Gerry a hand, covered in brightly-coloured plastic rings, and he takes it, because what else is he supposed to do? Turn them down? No way.

He still doesn’t understand why they have a _gun_ , but he doesn’t bother asking, just shoves the book back into his bag and lets Michael lead him away from the institute and towards the tube station.

Thankfully it’s nearly empty now, in the middle of the day, and Michael pulls him down into a seat next to them.

Gerry’s still feeling a little star-struck, to be honest, because he’s only had like, three full conversations with Michael before, and now they’ve told him they have a gun and invited him back to their house. How is he supposed to work under these conditions?

He’s so busy thinking that he doesn’t realise that they’ve crawled almost into his lap, the majority of their weight resting on his leg, and they’re looking at his pins.

“You have a lot of pins,” they say, when they notice him looking down at them. “I like this one.” They point to one that reads _bi-furious_. “And this one.” A little trans flag shaped like a ghost.

“You can have that one,” Gerry blurts out. It was like one pound fifty at pride, and seeing Michael smile is worth far more than that.

Their hand stills, and they smile brightly. “Really?”

“Yeah,” Gerry says, fumbling with the pin. “Want me to put it on you?”

“Yes, please,” they say, and he carefully pins it onto their cardigan, just below the _they/them_ pin they wear all the time.

“There,” he says, pulling away a little. “It looks good.”

Michael smiles, tucking a lock of hair behind their ear. “Thank you.”

They’re still very close, practically in Gerry’s lap, and he reaches out, just wanting to touch their hair.

They smile, eyes sparkling a little, and lean in until they’re just a few millimetres away.

“Hi,” they whisper. “Can I kiss you?”

Gerry blinks at them. “I … yeah. Yeah.”

“Good,” they say, and kiss him, hands tangled in his hair.

This is the best thing that a Leitner has ever done for him.

**Author's Note:**

> the trans ghost pin can be found [here](https://www.ftmessentials.com/products/ghost-pins) if you feel like seducing someone by giving them a cute pin or something
> 
> this was written for t4tma week and is also posted on my


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